It is common to apply an ink or coating or other liquid material to a cylinder or other surface within a printing unit by contacting the cylinder with an anilox roller. The anilox roller has an outer surface with a series of very precise depressions or dimples which permit a liquid, such as an ink or coating, to be applied to the roller as the surface of the roller passes through a reservoir of the liquid and then transfer a controlled amount of the liquid to another cylinder, such as delivery, printing or blanket cylinder.
It is often an advantage to be able to move the anilox roller into and out of engagement with the cylinder in order to selectively apply a liquid or not, depending on a particular printing job. While adequate devices exist for moving the anilox roller between an on impression and off impression position, it is always difficult and time consuming to insure a proper positioning of the anilox roller relative to the cylinder in the on impression position so as to transfer a uniform coating of a liquid from the anilox roller to the cylinder. An ongoing need exists for a technique and mechanism to make this necessary alignment easier and more rapid in operation. As a result, production speeds would increase and less skilled personnel are needed to operate the printing unit.